Speak Out 7/22/05

In my shoes

IF I could take responsibility for my health problems and pay for insurance, I would. But I can't. I can't even work. My life is in a wheelchair. I don't get enough money to pay my bills just to qualify for Medicaid. Spend a whole week the way I am and see how you'd like it.

Police need support

THIS PROBLEM we've got on Hanover Street can be solved easily and quickly. If the people who live there would support the police, the police would be glad to help. But imagine how you would feel if people who didn't support you expected you to come when the bad guys show up? In Cape Rock Village we've got a problem with a few young kids who think they're a gang. We're all working with the sheriff, and he will get the problem solved. The police in Cape Girardeau are good, and if you support them you can solve the problem. Don't be afraid of the police. They're there to help.

Assault on capitalism

I AGREE with Robert W. Dillon Jr. on the war, but I place most of the blame for the world's problems on conservatives (mercantilists) and modern liberals (socialists or progressives). Most of the world's problems are the result of both of these groups' assaulting capitalism relentlessly. Capitalism has always been the world's great champion of peace and wealth. Too bad these political zealots don't agree.

Veteran's response

IN RESPONSE to the Vietnam-era veteran who stated that the U.S. government has tied the military's hands in Iraq, I must respectfully disagree. The rules of engagement, equipment fielding and overall mission are extremely well thought out and resourced properly. I served in Iraq, so I have some level of reasonable authority to speak on this subject. Please do not let the media guide your views of our government.

Right slant

LET'S HOPE President Bush nominates a Supreme Court justice slanted to the right. That court has been slanted to the wrong far too long.

Messy intersection

I CAN'T believe Jackson is allowing the weeds and the mess at Jackson Boulevard and Hope Street. Who is responsible for taking care of this matter? This is what everyone who enters Jackson sees. This is our town's main crossroad. It is an eyesore. It should be a priority to clean up this mess and make it beautiful, not embarrassing.

Incomplete information

WALTER WILLIAMS' column "Aid to Africa: The Myth of the 'Vicious Cycle of Poverty'" was incomplete. Williams has a point that Africa's corrupt government is standing in the way of a great deal of good, but, according to Steven C. Smith, an expert on economic development and poverty, international governmental assistance in combination with the private business sector, nongovernmental organizations and world citizenry can, over time, bring poverty, disease and lack of education to its knees in Africa and other struggling parts of the world. Not all of the money pledged by the G8 countries is going to the "corrupt government." I appreciate Williams' expertise in the area of economics, but he did not fully discuss the goals and commitments made by the G8 countries in their decision to double aid to Africa by 2010.

Tax alcohol too

I THINK this whole smoking ordeal has gotten way out of hand. We all have rights whether you are a smoker or a nonsmoker, but enough is enough. The raising of cigarette taxes is outrageous. Perhaps the government should start raising taxes on the purchase of alcohol at the same rate it is raising taxes on a pack of cigarettes. I'm sure that would cause quite the scare for all the social alcoholics. Alcohol kills more than cigarette smoke. I know people who have died at the hands of a drunken driver, but I have never known anyone to die from secondhand smoke.

Movie's downside

SURE, A movie in Cape Girardeau sounds great, but consider the downside. The police would be doing double duty catering to the Hollywood crowd's every need. Traffic flow would come to a halt where filming is going on. If filming a movie here would bring $1 million to the local economy, let's hope it costs city and local business less than half that.

Proving ID

I AM so angry I could shout. I just came back from the driver's license office where I was denied a license. I was given 60 days to prove who I am. I am 80 years old and married in 1949. The woman at the license office told me I have to have a marriage license to get a driver's license. How should I know where my marriage license is? We were married in Europe after the war. My husband died in 1979. I never remarried, but I still have my husband's name. I have lived in the same town all my life except when I was a WAC in Europe after the war. I have never had a traffic ticket or a wreck. And now some youngster barely old enough to be my grandchild tells me I cannot renew my license until I prove who I am. I am no terrorist. I am just a senior citizen who still lives in her own home and pays her bills, including the taxes that pay for that clerk's salary.

Lingering mess

I UNDERSTAND that through the years our utility company has to replace lines throughout the city. Why do crews leave the mess for weeks without cleaning it up? There are barricades, drives roped off and a trench of dirt all the way up my street. Why is it the lines can be replaced in two days but two weeks later the mess still remains?

More visitors?

Is it just me, or are there more people coming to downtown Cape Girardeau these days?